Advocates group home once housed murder suspect

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 5:30 PM

NATICK - One of the two group homes where Advocates Inc. changed the use was later the home of a man arrested for murder in Framingham, which might add fuel to the fears of neighbors about a similar place coming to Framingham.

D. Craig MacCormack/Daily News staff

One of the two group homes where Advocates Inc. changed the use was later the home of a man arrested for murder in Framingham, which might add fuel to the fears of neighbors about a similar place coming to Framingham.

The house at 46 Pond St. in Natick was initially opened as a home for people with Prader-Willi syndrome shortly after Advocates bought it in December 1986, but became a home for young adults nearing the end of their Department of Social Services care in 2001, said Dr. Chris Gordon, the medical director and vice president of clinical services for Advocates.

Advocates yesterday officially closed on the purchase of a five-bedroom ranch at 33 William J. Heights in Framingham where they plan to house people with Prader-Willi. Neighbors fear the home will eventually be used for another purpose.

"This is exactly our nightmare concern," said Dean Siflinger, one of the board members of the Woodcrest Acres Association, a neighborhood group that plans to fight Advocates' move.

"The use of any home in our neighborhood as a group home is something we adamantly oppose," he said. "There are probably a million different scenarios of things we're fearful of that could come out of a group home setting. This is exactly why our neighborhood has taken the position we have and are actively taking this head-on."

People with Prader-Willi syndrome never feel full, and if unsupervised, would eat themselves to death. Advocates will have staffers at the home around the clock, except when all residents are at off-site programs.

The disease is marked by mild to moderate mental retardation, low muscle tone and a voracious appetite that generally leads to morbid obesity.

Because people with Prader-Willi are prone to osteoporosis, Advocates officials deemed the Natick house, which features steep and narrow stairs unsuitable for those residents, he said.

It has been used for young adults up to age 22 with psychological or emotional disabilities, teaching them the skills they need to lead independent lives, said Gordon.

Among the people who moved into the Pond Street home after the change of use was Oscar Rosa, who was charged in December with the stabbing murder of Craig Viera of Framingham.

Viera was working as a bouncer at the Avalon nightclub on Lansdowne Street in Boston on Nov. 26 when he was attacked at closing time by a group of men, including Rosa, at about 2:15 a.m., police said.

According to information from Boston Police, Rosa has a history of mental problems and beat a man to death in 2001. No information was available about that case because Rosa was a minor at the time.

Gordon would not confirm whether Rosa lived in the home, saying he cannot identify residents in any of the agency's homes, but 46 Pond St. is Rosa's last known address, according to police.

"I can understand how knowing this occurred would cause people to worry, but this is an isolated incident and not typical of the people we support," said Gordon.

This will be the fifth home for people with Prader-Willi in Framingham run by Advocates, which has received national and international acclaim for its treatment methods, which do not shock therapy.

Advocates restricts residents' access to food by locking the kitchen and counselors meet regularly with the residents to talk about ways to curb their appetites, although the condition cannot be cured.

Advocates is the third-largest provider of Prader-Willi syndrome care in the United States. It receives referrals from across the country and internationally.

Gordon would not reveal the location of the other Advocates home where the use has been changed, but said it is in MetroWest. He said it changed from a group home for people with mental illness to a case management facility for several years before returning to its original use a few years ago.

Neighbors continue to press Advocates officials for an assurance the home on William J. Heights will retain its original use, but Gordon said all he can do is rely on the agency's history.

"We change use extremely, extremely rarely," he said. "We have no intention of doing that (in Framingham)."

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